


Chloe vs Adrien! Fight!

by AlyaBug (MorphologicalMayhem)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bi Marinette/Ladybug, Coming Out, Competition, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Silly, lesbian chloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9556253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorphologicalMayhem/pseuds/AlyaBug
Summary: Chloe and Adrien compete for Ladybug's affections.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a silly idea that I had because Chloe definitely has a crush on Ladybug. It will hopefully include people being ridiculous, explorations of Chloe and Adrien's friendship, and Ladybug being confused and distressed.

“Ahem.” Chloé stood at the front of the class. “I have a very important announcement to make.” She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the chatter to stop. 

Eventually the class seemed to decide that the sooner Chloé made her announcement, the sooner she would stop taking, and they quieted down. Chloé snapped her fingers and Sabrina unfurled a rainbow flag as a backdrop. 

“Thank you.” Chloé smirked. “I would like to announce that I have no interest in the male gender. They're useless to me. I'm a lesbian.” She smiled smugly and then frowned, clearly annoyed at the lack of thunderous applause. 

The class mostly ignored her but Adrien smiled and clapped and Rose squealed. “Congratulations on coming out Chloé! I'm so happy for you!”

“Yes, yes. I am very brave. I would have realized it sooner but all of the girls in this class are all so plain.” Chloé sneered. Rose’s face fell.

“I thought you liked Adrien?” Kim asked. He seemed annoyed, probably remembering the time he got akumatized over his crush on Chloé.

“While Adrien is the only one of you that has any value whatsoever, he unfortunately has a dick, which I am _really_ not interested in.” She looked at Adrien in the front row, who was smiling at her encouragingly. “No offence, Adri-chou.” She blew him a kiss.

“None taken.” He said, shrugging amicably. For all her faults, Chloé was his friend and he would be there to support her in her coming out. He knew she was a lot more nervous about this then she let on, as she had broken down to him about it a few days prior. He had suspected she was gay for a while now. Her her apparent attraction to him had never really made sense and had come out of nowhere one day, after a childhood of friendship. They were twelve years old and both innocently infatuated with the same model that worked with his father. One day she declared she was no longer interested in that beautiful model and was now going to date him. She had never seen her show much interest in any other guy. Her focus on Adrien was just a way to appear heterosexual without actually dating a guy. He was fairly confident she had no interest in him romantically and she confirmed his suspicions when she came out to him.

“Why are you telling us this?” Alix asked, sounding bored. 

Chloé glared. “I was getting to that!” She stomped her foot before continuing. “As I was saying, none of you are good enough for me but there is one girl we know who is.” Adrien was surprised about this. She hadn’t mentioned liking anyone when they had talked about this last week. They mainly talked about how people would respond and how she felt overwhelmed from suppressing it for so long and that she thought dicks were gross. He would have thought a crush would be worth mentioning.

“You can't date yourself, Chloé.” Nino explained, dryly. 

Chloé ignored him. “Ladybug!” She smiled smugly. “We will be perfect together and you will help me get her attention during the next Akuma attack.”

Marinette fell out of her chair. Adrien’s supportive smiled started to fade. 

Chloé scoffed. “What is wrong with you, Marinette? Stop trying to steal my big moment.”

“Ah, no, that isn't. . . .” Marinette stuttered awkwardly for a few seconds before coming to her senses. “What makes you think Ladybug would be interested in you?” She scrambled back onto her seat. 

Chloé laughed. “Where have you been? Ladybug publically came out as bi last month.” 

“Yes, but why would she want to date _you_?” Alya added. “She has Chat Noir.”

“Please.” Chloé scoffed. “She’s totally not interested in him. He’s just a stupid cat-boy. Have you ever actually spoken to him? No way would someone like her be into him, especially when I am an option.” She flipped her hair arrogantly. Adrien’s eyes narrowed and his smile nearly disappeared. Chloé could be very hurtful. He wasn’t used to her cruelness being directed at him personally. Even if she didn’t know she was insulting him, it still hurt.

Alya laughed, mockingly, “Chloé, he’s a superhero too. By definition that makes him cooler than any of us. Besides, they are cute together.” 

Thank you, Alya. Adrien thought

Marinette made a gagging noise but Chloé ignored her. “Aside from the fact that you are _wrong_ , I am sure she wouldn’t mess up her working relationship with dating. She is smarter than that.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. Was she right? That hadn’t occurred to him. Maybe Ladybug was just not interested in complicating their relationship. Would she be more likely to date a civilian?

Chloé was still talking but Adrien wasn’t listening. He stood up and everyone looked at him in surprise. “If Ladybug is going to date anyone, it’s going to be me!” If Ladybug was going to date a civilian, it wasn’t going to be Chloé. He loved Chloé but he wouldn’t wish her as a girlfriend on his worst enemy. Besides, no one else was going to be pursuing his Lady while he was around. He was Chat Noir. He knew her and loved her more than anyone. If she didn’t want to date him as a superhero, it wouldn’t hurt to pursue her as a civilian. Especially if it prevented Chloé from swooping in and making her miserable.

Chloé did a double take. Then her face hardened. “Are you challenging me, Adri-chou?” The term of endearment had none of it’s usual affection. 

“Yes.” He stood up to her glare without flinching. The class whooped and cheered around them. 

She walked over to her childhood friend, determination in each step. Standing in front of him, she hissed with as much venom as she could muster. “It is _on_.”

Marinette fell out of her chair again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe schemes and orders flowers.

How dare he? How  _ dare _ he? Chloé filed her nails furiously. Adrien was her  _ friend _ and he was trying to steal her girl? Why was he doing this? He had mentioned that he thought Ladybug was pretty a few times but he had never been a fan like her. 

Sabrina looked at Chloé with concern, pausing in her note taking. “Are you okay?” She whispered. 

“Of course I’m okay.” She hissed. “Pay attention. I’m going to need those notes.” 

Sabrina nodded timidly and focused her attention on the lesson. At least Sabrina was useful for something. 

Chloé looked down at her nails and had to stifle a scream. She had filed her left middle finger to much on one side. Now it was lopsided! She was going to have to go in for an emergency nail appointment during lunch. This was all Adrien’s fault. 

She quickly sent out a text to her nail artist, demanding she clear her schedule. Unable to continue her nail routine for fear of causing further damage, she sat back and seethed. 

Adrien had been her friend for years. She considered him her best friend. Sure, the last couple of years he had seemed distant because she had that weird thing where she pretended that she had a crush on him, but she apologized for that and he said he understood. Was he mad about that? She had fucking apologized. She didn’t do that for just anyone. 

Chloé looked over to where Adrien sat, taking notes dutifully, and glared. What made him so different from her? Why did people treat him so different from her? They were basically the same but people always seemed to like him more. When he had started school here (Something that  _ she _ made happen) she had hoped she would have a someone to be on her side. It was always her against the rest of the class and she wanted her best friend there with her. But when he got there, they all embraced him. And that pissed her off. 

Everyone liked him and that is what made him dangerous. Ladybug belonged with her and she was going to prove it to him. Chloé sat back, chewing on her lip angrily, and started to plan. 

  
  
  


After a very successful appointment with her manicurist, Chloé headed back to school to put her plan into motion. 

First, she found Sabrina in the library. 

“Sabrina,” she snapped her fingers at her friend. “Did you arrange it?” 

Sabrina looked up from her homework immediately. “Of course. It’s all taken care of.” 

“Good.” Chloé smiled and Sabrina beamed. 

Walking out into the common area, she scanned the crowd of students. Who would be best for this? That girl over there was certainly having a bad hair day, but no, her smile seemed to genuine for her to be an easy target. That quiet kid over there seemed sad, maybe he would be, oh, wait, he had already been akumatized. 

Chloé frowned. None of them were easy targets and she needed an akuma now, not next week after she had worn them down. 

Wait, there it was, that girl carrying all those books. She was wearing tall heels that she seemed very unsteady on. That had potential. Chloé sauntered over to her, smiling wide. 

The girl, who Chloé vaguely recognized as being in the year below her, was set for a disastrous fall. Chloé subtly got in position to cause the fall.

Crash! The girl miss-stepped and all the books came crashing down. Chloé hadn’t even needed to do anything. 

“Wow.” She sneered at the girl who was trying to gather up the books. “That was just sad.”

The girl looked up at her. Were those tears in her eyes? This was going to be easier than she thought. 

Chloé laughed, as cruel as she could. Frankly, she didn’t really care about this girl or that she fell, but if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was make people upset. It was all she seemed to be able to do sometimes. Pushing that dangerously self reflective thought aside, she focused on her ticket to Ladybug. 

“No wonder,” she sneered. “You could never pull off those heels. Even cheap knock-offs like those are too classy for someone like  _ you _ .” She could tell that this girl was trying to be fashionable but was insecure about it. Wearing heels that she couldn’t handle was a clear sign but the uneveness of her style made it undeniable. She wore heels and a fashionable top but her jeans were clearly from a department store and her hair was flat. She was trying hard but not quite succeeding.  An ideal target. 

The girl burst into tears, stumbling as she gathered up her books and ran to the bathroom. Perfect. Chloé smiled. Now she just had to wait for the inevitable. 

“Chloé!” Chloé rolled her eyes at Marinette’s voice. “What’s  _ wrong _ with you? That was so unnecessary!”

“Whatever,” She said dismissively. Marinette was so annoying. She turned to Sabrina. “Is everything ready?” 

Sabrina looked up from her phone with a start. “Yes! It’s here.”

Perfect. Chloé ignored Marinette, who was still berating her. “Go and get it so it will be ready when it is time. 

“Of course Chloé.” Sabrina rushed off to take care of the flowers.

_ Crash!  _ There was a scream from the direction of the bathroom.

This couldn’t have gone any smoother. 

“Chloé!” Marinette scolded. “Look what you have done!”

“Ladybug will save everyone, don’t have aneurysm.” She walked towards the classrooms to hide. She knew that she would probably be found by the akuma and it would have it’s silly way with her. But she wasn’t worried. Ladybug would save her, just like she always did. That was one of the reasons she loved her so much. She was always there for her and she made her feel safe. 

She had just gotten back to the classroom when the akuma burst through the door. It was a hideous sight, with long stilt legs, wild hair and clown-like makeup. The legs seemed to actually be mostly very tall heels that clicked sickeningly as it walked. 

“I am Talon, and I am here to  _ crush _ Chloé Bourgeois.” It said in its shrieky voice. 

That would be frightening if she didn't know that Ladybug would never let her get hurt. That really took the fear out of akuma attacks. 

She still hid behind a desk as it looked around. She wasn’t stupid. 

The akuma had just tossed aside the desk she was hiding behind when she felt someone pick her up and then she was flying through the air with them. Her heart beat faster. Ladybug had her now. She turned to look up at her savior. 

And frowned. It was Chat Noir. 

“Uhg.” She said in distaste. 

The weird cat boy’s mouth twitched into a smile. “I’m sorry?”

“You should be!” She pouted as he set her down on the sidewalk a block from the school. “Ladybug was supposed to save me!” 

He rolled his eyes. “Was I supposed to just leave you there?” He asked, far too cheeky for her liking. There was only one boy she let talk to her like that and he was currently on her shit list. 

“Yes!” She glared up at him. She had nothing in particular against Chat Noir, he was just in her way. Mostly she just didn’t pay much attention to him. He reminded her of Adrien in a lot of ways, especially when they were younger and he was allowed to be sillier. But no, she was mad at Adrien. He was also in the way of her goal. 

Chat Noir just laughed. “I’ll just let you be turned into a weird spindly leg monster next time, I promise.”  

“You better!” She yelled after him as he jumped back towards the school. She huffed. This was not going according to plan. She had to get back to the school so she would be there when Ladybug defeated the akuma. 

Storming by Sabrina, who was unloading a giant bouquet of roses from a florist’s car, she snapped, “Have those ready!” and ran up the steps to the school. 

By the time she looked inside, the fight was already well on its way to being finished. Ladybug had already summoned her lucky charm and Chat had the akuma distracted. This would be over in no time. Chloé would never admit the amount of time she spent reading the Ladyblog fight recaps but it was certainly enough to know the flow of their fights. 

There it was. Chat tossed her the shoe and Ladybug snapped off the heel in one swift motion. As she captured the butterfly and purified it, Chloé signaled to Sabrina to bring up the flowers and headed towards the object of her affection. 

Chloé hugged Ladybug right as she fistbumped Chat Noir, surprising both of them. “Oh, thank you Ladybug! You saved me again!” She fluttered her eyelashes up at her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chat Noir look annoyed before running in the other direction. He wasn’t even going to say goodbye to Ladybug? How rude. Clearly she was the better option. 

“Uh, no problem.” Ladybug said, patting her on the back gently. Chloé smiled. She loved hugging Ladybug. 

Chloé pulled away and looked at Ladybug eagerly. “We should go on a date this weekend.” She said, with certainty. If there was one she had learned from growing up around politicians, it was that you need to project confidence even when you are nervous. She snapped her fingers and Sabrina came up behind her with the roses.

“Uh, what?” Ladybug seemed surprised and tried to move away. Chloé reluctantly let her go but grabbed her hands. 

“I got you flowers.” She took the flowers from Sabrina and held out the large bouquet. “I’ll see you at 8 tomorrow night?” She flashed her a flirty smile that she had spent hours practicing in the mirror. 

Ladybug took the flowers, with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Thanks?” She said before shaking her head. “Wait, no! Did you antagonize that girl just so I would show up? I’m not going on a date with you.”

Before Chloé could react to the rejection she heard a voice. “Ladybug!”

God dammit. It was Adrien. He was going to use his stupid likablity to steal Ladybug away from her. 

Ladybugs eyes widened. “I, uh, have to go now.” Holding tight to the large bouquet, she swung her yoyo and lept out a window and out of sight. 

Chloé turned to Adrien. “You made her leave! You ass!”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “She rejected you anyways.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “That was nothing. I’ll win her over eventually. You’ll see.” She smiled, genuinely happy for the first time in a while. “She kept the flowers, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at this? I actually continued a story! I have ideas for this one. It will continue. I promise.   
> I hope I got Chloe's voice right. She is interesting to write.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urg. This chapter started out easy to write but then it just decided it didn't want to be written. I am not a huge fan of it, but I wanted to get it out there so I could move on. I am not super sure about Chloe's voice still. And it is hard to try to determine her motivations.

“Good evening, my Lady.” Chat Noir grinned as Ladybug jumped onto the rooftop next to him. 

“Urg.” She groaned. “Today was so weird.” She leaned against the chimney in exasperation.  

Chat tried to keep calm. He was hoping this topic would come up. “What happened? Aside from the akuma, of course.”

“Don't even get me started on the akuma!” she said before she got started on the akuma. “Chloé Bourgeois made it happen so she could _ask me out._ ” She scoffed. “She apparently thought it would be good to get someone akumatized to get my attention.”  
Chat couldn’t help but smile. Chloé didn’t stand a chance. She was his friend but she was never going to win over Ladybug. “Wow. So you turned her down?”

She rolled her eyes.”Of course.” She paused thoughtfully. “Although the flowers were really pretty.” She smiled dreamily before her scowl returned. “Although I had to hide them because I can’t just show up with a huge bouquet of flowers with no explanation as to where it came from. She’s so inconsiderate!”

Chloé was right, Chat realized in distress. She did like the flowers. But not enough to overcome her dislike, right? Damn, maybe he should get her flowers. Should he do it as Adrien or Chat? “If another person tried to woo you who wasn’t a selfish brat, then would you date them?”

“Chat. . . .” She rolled her eyes at him. “I already told you no. You have got to stop pushing.”

“Not me!” He lied. “But, like, someone else! Like that Adrien Agreste kid. He seems to like you.” Maybe he was pushing his luck. You never know until you try.

To his delight, Ladybug blushed. “That’s none of your business.” She said sharply, but she smiled. “Come on, let’s get started with patrol.” With one last roll of her eyes, she swung to another building. He followed, giddy with the potential of that blush.

He knew he was attractive. That was never in doubt. He wasn’t being arrogant, it was just the truth. The way she blushed when she mentioned his name could only mean one thing: she agreed. Ladybug had probably seen him in a magazine or one of his billboards and thought he looked attractive. He couldn’t stop grinning all though patrol. 

Ladybug thought he was attractive. He was totally going to win this. 

On his way home he spotted a particular light on in the Grand Paris Hotel. He considered for a moment before deciding that a little gloating wouldn’t hurt. 

  
  
  
  


Chloé was in the middle of her skincare routine when she heard the tapping on the window. She groaned as she poked her head out of her bathroom and saw who was standing on her balcony. It was Chat Noir. What the hell was  _ he _ doing on her balcony in the middle of the night?

She made a gesture at her face, which was covered in her very expensive cleanser. He nodded and she went back into her bathroom to rinse it off. After rubbing night cream into her face she stomped out to open the door to the balcony.

“I hope you have a damn good reason to interrupt my skincare routine.” She glared at the superhero. “If I get a pimple, I’m blaming you.”

He rolled his dumb green eyes and laughed. “As long as you don’t get akumatized over it, I won’t lose sleep.” 

“See, this is why you are the sidekick.” She said, but she laughed. Chat was annoying but in a way that felt familiar. She had to reminder herself that he was a rival. “What are you even doing here?” 

“Just thought I would check in, see how your stunt today worked out for you.” He grinned. “Maybe try not to get someone akumatized on purpose next time.”

“Whatever.” Chloé shrugged. “You just want to discourage me because you’re jealous she liked the flowers.”

He frowned momentarily and she knew she hit a nerve. “I think you should be more worried about that Adrien kid.” He said, the smile returning to his face. “I heard she thinks he’s cute.”

Chloé frowned. “Of course she thinks he’s cute.” She said with false casualness. “He’s adorable.” 

Chat laughed. “Aren’t you jealous?” He asked, teasingly. 

Chloé was jealous. She was extremely jealous. Seething with jealousy. But she just laughed. “He’s adorable but  _ I’m  _ gorgeous.”

“Of course.” Chat laughed. “Still, I don't think  _ he _ has ever caused an akuma. How many have you caused now?”

She groaned. Why were people always blaming her for other people's weaknesses? “Last I checked, Hawkmoth was the one causing akumas. Not me.”

“Point.” He said with another dorky smile, plopping down casually on her chair like he had sat in it a million times. “Still, you do play a role.”

“I really don’t think it is my fault they are so weak and shallow. All it took was this girl tripping and dropping her books and a few true words and that was enough.” Chloé snorted, a noise she would never make around someone she wanted to impress. “What an easy life she must have. All of these people getting akumatized because someone rejected them, or they broke something, or they weren't good enough for a part in a play or whatever stupid thing it is this time. Is it really my fault if I tell them how it is and they are so weak willed that they can't handle it?” She laughed. “If anything, I'm doing them a favor.”

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her. “I'm not sure they would see it that way.” 

She rolled her eyes. “And I should care why?”

Chat opened his mouth and then stopped, shaking his head. “If I remember correctly, you got akumatized yourself over 'some stupid thing'.”

She glared. “That was not ‘some stupid thing’, you dickfaced cretin. My idol and crush let me down. That is a big deal.”

He sighed. “The things that akumatize people are always a big deal to them, even if you don’t understand it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Did you just come here to lecture me or did you have a point?”

“Nah, I mainly came here to lecture you.” He said, shrugging. “I'll let you get back to your moisturizing.”

“Screw you.” She glared at him.

He laughed as he vaulted away into the night and Chloé sighed.

She knew Ladybug didn’t like her. She wasn’t stupid. Ladybug always reacted negatively to her presence. She had even gotten akumatized over it, after all. She didn’t need some stupid, cocky cat to tell her that Adrien was a better person than she was. 

Heading back inside and closing her balcony door, she tried to focus on completing her nightly rituals. But as she applied moisturizer to her legs, she couldn’t help but get distracted.

She wasn’t a perfect person, she knew that. Her personality was too abrasive for most people. She knew she had to work on putting on a nicer face and hiding what she really thought about people. Especially if she was going to go into politics. 

But why did that mean that she didn’t deserve Ladybug? 

Ladybug was so good, surely she could look past her flaws? She loved Ladybug and would do anything for her, didn’t that mean anything?

She sighed, leaning back on her bed. Apparently it didn’t.

She wanted to help people like Ladybug did. She really did. But she wasn’t a superhero and people were so annoying. They got upset about everything and they never listened to her. It was so frustrating. 

She knew what she wanted and she worked to get it. That was something people always used to tell her was good. All throughout her childhood, adults would always tell her that her determination was going to get her far, that she was going to be powerful and people would respect her. Then all of a sudden the tune changed and she was ‘mean’ and needed to ‘act nicer’. 

It made her angry the way that people like _ Marinette Dupain-Cheng  _ were so well liked when she didn’t even  _ try _ . She didn’t even seem to notice that everyone liked her. It was just so annoying. Chloé worked so hard to try to make people like her and Marinette didn’t even do anything and she got everything Chloé wanted. She had friends who actually wanted to spend time with her without being bribed, she had a cute girlfriend, she looked pretty without even looking like she tried, she had talent. She even took the class representative position away from Chloé. Why did Marinette even need it? She wasn’t going to be a politician. She probably just wanted it because Chloé had it. Just like Adrien.

Adrien was someone else who people always seemed to like, but at least she knew he tried. He was just better at it than she was, for some reason.  

She sighed, spreading her arms up above her head. She was sure Ladybug would like her if she just got a chance to get to know her. 

An idea hit her all of a sudden and she lept up to find her phone. 

_ Daddy. . . .  _ she texted.  _ I want to throw a party! _


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloé throws a party but it does not go well for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look a this? A new chapter! :D This made me sad for Chloé. The is actually getting much angstier than I expected. I was originally planning this story to be primarily humor.

 

“You invited  _ who _ ?” Chloé asked, fuming, as she watched the caterers set up.

“Adrien, of course.” Her father said, smiling distractedly. “I saw him when I was having lunch with Gabriel and he didn’t know about the party. So I made sure to tell him all the details. I know he’s a fan of Ladybug too.”

“Daddy, no!” She whined, stomping her foot. “We’re fighting right now! I don’t want him at my party.”

“Oh, sweety. Of course you want Adrien here. He is your best friend.” The mayor looked down at his phone. “I’m sorry. I have a meeting. I’ll be back soon, darling.” 

“He’s not my best friend anymore!” she insisted, but her father had already started to walk away. She sighed, glaring at the caterers. Her father always doted on her but rarely actually listened to what she was saying. 

Truth be told, she missed Adrien. It had only been a week since their feud began but they missed their weekly cartoon binge. It was not as fun watching anime by herself without his running commentary of snark and enthusiasm.  

But no. They were rivals now. All that mattered was winning Ladybug’s heart. That was what she set her mind to and that was what she was going to get. 

If Adrien showed up, she was just going to have to be extra charming to distract Ladybug away from him. 

She smiled, heading back to her room for a few last minutes touch ups on her look. 

She was going to look so sexy, there would be no way Ladybug could resist her. 

 

 

“Thank you so much for getting me in.” Alya said as they headed into the Grand Paris Hotel. “I mean, I normally wouldn’t want to go to one of Chloé’s parties but if Ladybug is going to be there than I am  _ there _ .”

“No problem.” Adrien said, laughing. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m not exactly welcome here myself.”

“I don’t understand how you were ever friends with her.” Alya said, rolling her eyes. 

“I’m still friends with her,” said Adrien, kind of guiltily as the doorman waved them up. “This will blow over once I get Ladybug to fall in love with me.”

“Not if I seduce her first,” Alya laughed.  

“Hey, you have Marinette,” Adrien pointed out, as they hit the elevator button up to the penthouse. “Don’t be greedy. Leave some cute girls for the rest of us.”

Alya grinned and waggled her eyebrows. “But seriously. I get that Chloé was your friend when you were kids, but why do you still want to hang out with her?”

He sighed. He had had this conversation with Nino more times than he could count. “She’s. . . not that bad.” The elevator door opened. “She’s a bit of a jerk but, like, she can be fun to hang out with. And she mostly doesn’t mean any harm. She’s just a bit selfish.”

Alya snorted. “A bit.”

“Yeah, I know.” He smiled awkwardly. “But she tries.” 

“If you say so.” Alya shook her head. The elevator opened and they headed into the party. 

It was classy, like all of Chloé’s parties. Rich and fashionable teenagers laughed and dance and ate while their powerful parents mingled. This had been Adrien’s main exposure to his peers for many years before he started school and, while many of the attendees were perfectly nice people, he was glad he had other friends now. 

“I don’t think Ladybug’s here yet.” Alya said, pouting. “You’re sure she’s coming?”

“I have it on good authority.” Ladybug had told him herself on patrol the other night. That was when he knew he had to get in no matter what. 

“I hope she gets here soon. I don’t want to spend the evening with these rich nitwits.” She smiled at Adrien. “No offence.”

“None taken.”

“Urg, there’s Chloé.” Alya did a double take. “ _ Damn _ . She looks  _ fine _ .”

Adrien followed her gaze and let out a groan when he saw Chloé. “Oh no. That’s the outfit she showed me when she came out to me. She insisted it could get any gay girl to fall for her.” He didn’t see what was so special about it, It was just a loose legged dark blue bodysuit. It was pretty low cut and it didn’t look bad on her, but it wasn’t exactly  _ sexy _ . But he wasn’t a gay girl. 

“She was  _ right _ .” Alya cleared her throat. “I mean, I hate her and she’s Chloé and everything. But I am not going to deny that it looks good on her.” 

Adrien studied Alya’s reaction nervously. If Chloé could make it so that  _ Alya _ would admit that she was attractive, he might be in trouble. 

 

 

Chloé was getting impatient. The party was in full swing and Ladybug still wasn’t here.  _ Adrien  _ was, though. And he brought stupid  _ Alya _ . She didn’t say he could invite her. She didn’t even invite him. She squashed down the part of her that was happy to see him as she headed over to them.

“Hello, Adrien.” She greeted, not even bothering to plaster on a fake smile. “What’re you doing here? I don’t recall inviting you.”  
“Oh, hello, Chloé.” He gave her a perfect model smile, obviously just messing with her. “Your father invited me. He knows we are both such _fans_ of Ladybug.” 

“You ass.” She hissed. “Why are you so interested in Ladybug, anyways? You were never as interested as I am.”

“I was!” Adrien said, dropping his smile and glaring. “I’ve been basically in love with her since I first saw her.” 

“I fell for her when she  _ saved my life _ !” She was so angry. “That was before you ever saw her in person.”

Adrien looked like he was about to say something, but he closed his mouth. Good. He should keep his stupid mouth shut. 

“You always need to one up me on everything.” She continued. Her voice was raising but she didn’t care that people were staring. They weren’t important. “You did that at school and now you want to do that with Ladybug!”

Adrien seemed surprised and that just made her angrier. Oh, like he didn’t know what he was doing. 

“Don’t act surprised. You know what you’re doing. You come to school with me and then you just - you just make everyone like you. You asshole.” She felt tears prick her eyes and she turned on her heel, stomping away.

She would rather die than let anyone see her cry. People were staring at her as she headed to the bathroom. A girl was washing her hands and yelped in surprised when Chloé burst in. 

“Out.” She snapped. The girl’s eyes widened and she scurried out. 

Chloé sighed, leaning against the sink. She blinked back angry tears, trying not to mess up her eye makeup. 

She handled that poorly. She knew that. Accusing Adrien of being an asshole because people like him was not going to reflect well on her. But she couldn’t help it. 

She just wanted her friend back. 

No. She didn’t care about stupid, funny, and caring Adrien. What she wanted was a cute and awesome girlfriend. 

She pushed the tears back and quickly touched up her makeup. Taking a deep breath, she headed out the rejoin her party. 

A waiter passed by her right as she left the bathroom and she grabbed a glass of champagne from his tray. As she scanned the room, her grip on the glass tightened. 

Ladybug was here. 

She was talking to Adrien and Alya and a small group of people. And she was laughing.

Chloé downed the glass of champagne as daintily as she could, and strode over to them.

“Ladybug! You made it!” She pushed her way through the small crowd and flung her arms around the superhero. 

Ladybug didn’t look happy to see her, but she couldn’t let that bother her. She had grown a thicker skin than that. “Uh, hello Chloé.” She hesitated as Chloé planted a quick kiss on her cheek. “It’s a lovely party.” Her eyes wandered toward where Adrien stood with Alya and Chloé felt her smile slipping. 

“I need to show you something, Ladybug.” She lied, pulling Ladybug by the hand through the party. She didn’t resists as Chloé pulled her towards one of the balconies, although she did look back longingly. 

“What did you want to show me?” Ladybug asked, sounding tired. 

Chloé shut the balcony doors behind her. “Me.”

“I see you. You look great.” The complement sounded sincere and it made Chloé blush.  

“Of course I do.” She smiled, taking Ladybug’s hands in her own. “I want to ask you out again.”

Ladybug sighed. “Chloé, I already said no.”

“I know. I know.” She said, waving her hand dismissively. “But I want to ask again. For real.” 

Chloé took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult. But if she couldn’t be honest with Ladybug, then who could she be honest with?

“Chloé. . . .” Ladybug started to say, but Chloé held up a hand.

“I . . . I know I am not  _ nice _ .” She said, slowly. “I get what I want. People used to tell me that meant I was ‘goal oriented’ and I’ll ‘go far’ but I’m starting to think I may be missing an important factor. I’m just not very good at considering other people. I just don’t understand them. Everyone gets  _ so  _ upset over everything, how am I supposed to  _ not  _ take advantage of them?” Ladybug raised a skeptical eyebrow. “But anyways, I like you. You make me want to understand people. You make me want to help them like you do. And you’re so good that you make me see the value in being ‘nice’.” Chloé sighed. “Also, you’re, like,  _ really _ pretty.”

Ladybug’s expression was hard to read. “Chloé. . . I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll go out to dinner with me?” Chloé asked, hesitantly. She was starting to feel sick. Feeling vulnerable like this was awful.

“I, I would. I would go out to dinner with you. . . .” Ladybug said, but Chloé could hear the apology already in her voice. “But, there’s someone else.” 

“Who?” Chloé wasn’t going to get so close only to receive such a vague answer. “Who’s so much better than me?” She hated it, but she could feel the tears prick the corners of her eyes for the second time today. 

Ladybug didn’t answer but she glanced back towards the party. 

Adrien. 

Of course it was Adrien. It was always Adrien. 

The tears threatened to escape but she willed them to stay. She wasn’t going to cry in front of Ladybug. 

Before either of them had a chance to speak, however, there was an unmistakable crash from inside.

“An akuma.” Ladybug said. “I’m sorry Chloé, we’ll talk later, I promise.” 

And she threw open the doors and rushed back into the party, which was quickly turning into a complete mess.

Chloé didn’t follow. She sank down until she was sitting, leaning against the wall. She normally would never sit on the dirty ground. This was a designer outfit, after all. It cost more than most of her classmate’s parents made in a month. It should never touch the dirty floor.

But Chloé didn’t care right now. Nor did she care that the tears that were falling from her eyes were probably completely messing up her makeup. She slipped off her heels and hugged her knees towards her chest. The akuma battle raged inside but she ignored it.

She always knew that Ladybug was probably going to reject her. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. She knew she was terrible. She was awful and she didn’t deserve love.

She just didn’t know how to be any other way. 

With Ladybug, she felt like she could learn. But Ladybug didn’t want to be with her. Ladybug couldn’t stand her. And Adrien couldn’t stand her either. Even Sabrina was starting to pull away from her. She would end up alone. With no friends, no girlfriend, just her father’s vague doting and creepy old men hitting at her at political functions. 

The tears were coming more quickly now, accompanied by dry, unattractive sobs. Her nose was dripping on the leg of her pants. She should really fix herself up. She couldn’t go back to the party like this. She was a mess, but she couldn’t let other people know that. 

The sobs slowly began to subside and she just sat there, in silence, listening to the crashes from the akuma fight having on the other side of the wall. Ladybug was winning, of course. Because she was amazing.

The thought made more tears fall. She was starting to get a headache from all the crying.

Eventually, the familiar swarm of ladybugs enveloped the hotel, signifying that the battle was over. That meant she would have to get cleaned up before people started to wonder where she was. If she had any luck, everyone would just decide to go home after such a disaster of the party. She didn’t even know why the person was akumatized or who it was, but she really didn’t care. 

Chloé was trying to make herself look something approaching presentable when the doors to the balcony opened quietly. 

Chat Noir slipped through them and shut them behind him. Of course. This terrible night wouldn’t be complete without that annoying cat.

He didn’t see her. She was about to tell him to leave her alone when a light flashed and Chat Noir wasn’t there anymore.

Adrien stood in his place.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Chloe have a Talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a quick update! Wow. I am surprised at myself.  
> You probably shouldn't get used to it.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

_Adrien_ was Chat Noir.

Adrien _was_ Chat Noir.

Adrien was _Chat Noir_.

No matter what the emphasis, Chloé still couldn’t believe it. But the proof was right in front of her. One second Chat Noir was there and then the next it was Adrien.

She shrieked. That was the only reasonable response to discovering that your best friend was a superhero.

Adrien spun around and saw her. Realization, then panic, flashed through his eyes as he saw her expression. He knew his secret was out.

“Chloé,” Adrien said, reaching out to her as if to calm her. “I need you to calm down.”

“You’re Chat Noir,” she accused. “You are Chat _fucking_ Noir.”

How had he kept this from her? How had it happened? How was her _friend_ one of the two protectors of the city and she had no idea? Why the hell didn’t he tell her?

A small voice came from a floating cat-like creature that Chloé had barely noticed in her focus on her best friend the superhero. “Damn kid, you’re screwed.”

“What’s that?” she yelled, pointing at the strange thing with the over-sized head.

“That’s Plagg, don’t worry about him.” Adrien grabbed the creature roughly and stuffed it in his pocket. “I need you to keep your voice down!”

“You were Chat Noir the whole time? And you didn’t tell me?” she whispered angrily.

“I didn’t tell _anyone_. That's the whole point. Secret identity and everything, you know?” he hissed, leaning in close. “Can we _please_ go somewhere more private?”

Chloé glanced towards the door, suddenly self conscious. She was still a mess from crying and she couldn’t let herself be seen like that. Looking her over, Adrien quickly realized the reason behind her hesitation.

“Most of the people left after the akuma. You’ll be fine.” He assured her with a kind smile. God damn it. Adrine was even kind when he was going through a crisis. Why was he so perfect?

She tried brushed her hair away from her face and attempted as close to a haughty expression as she could under the circumstances. This wasn’t an ideal situation for either of them but she’d be damned it she was going to let it show. At least more than the tear streaked makeup and dirty, rumbled outfit already showed.

“Only if you _promise_ to tell me _everything,_ ” she insisted. She was not going to let him turn this into an excuse to discuss her feelings and ignore the real issue. Which was that he was a freaking superhero.

“I promise. Can we _please_ go to your room or something.”

“Just make sure no one sees me like this.”

He squeezed her shoulder in comfort. It was so hard to be mad at Adrien. But she was strong and she was going to do it. She shrugged him off.

The main room was deserted except for a few of the staff cleaning up the mess. Chloé sighed in relief. Thank goodness for fickle friends who run at the first sign of danger.

“Oh, god, I look awful,” she said, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her makeup was a smudged mess and her eyes were red and puffy. Usually she was good at a controlled breakdown that didn’t leave much evidence but this one was worse than normal.

“You’re fine,” Adrien said, putting a gentle hand on her back. He was pretty much the only person she would allow to see her like that and even then she was massively uncomfortable.

“Adrien!” A voice called and Chloé jumped. Oh, no. Not _her_. “There you are.”

Alya ran up to them and Chloé dove behind Adrien so Alya wouldn’t see her shame. She was pretty much the worst person to run into like this. A bubble of anger at Adrien welled up inside her. Why had he brought that horrible, nosy, loud, (but admittedly very cute), girl to her party in the first place?

“Oh, hi, Alya. I thought you would have gone home.” Adrien said, awkwardly with Chloé clinging behind him.

“I was going to but I couldn’t find you. Are you good?” She paused. “Is Chloé okay over there?”

“She’s fine. We were just going to talk a bit,” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’ll see you on Monday?”

A horrible thought occurred to Chloé. “Does _she_ know?” she asked Adrien, glaring at Alya from behind him.

“Know what?” Alya asked. She was always so nosy. How did Adrien stand her?

Adrien glared daggers at Chloé. “Of course Alya knows _that we have been fighting_. You made it clear to everyone.”

Ha. She didn’t know. Chloe was sure she would be dying of jealousy if she knew that Chloé figured out one of the superheroes’ identities before she did. Especially given that he was right under her nose. “Oh, yes. Of course. I just wasn’t sure, because she is always so behind on _everything_.”

“Chloé. . .” warned Adrien.

Alya rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She looked Chloé over. “You look _great_ , Chloé, by the way.”

Chloé was tempted to just deck her, right there. But Adrien gave her a warning look and she remembered that there were more important people to be upset with. Alya would get off, _this_ time. She sneered at her back as she left.

 

 

 

Adrien sighed with relief when they finally got to the relative safety of Chloé’s bedroom. At least here they wouldn’t be overheard. He was still kicking himself that he had been so careless to be seen detransforming. He had been doing this for a year, he should be better than that.

“Okay,” Chloé said, sitting on her couch and turned towards him expectantly. “You’re going to talk. Now.”

It was oddly freeing to be able to discuss his secret identity. He told her everything, starting from how the box with the ring appeared in his room and who Plagg was and how he jumped at the chance to be a superhero. He explained what he had actually been doing during each of the attacks.

“So, when Mylené became the big monster thing, you were never actually taken, were you?” she asked, trying to recontextualize the attacks.

He groaned. “Oh god, that one was so ridiculous, I thought for sure I was going to be found out.”

“Yeah, like, how haven’t you been?” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “You are like, so bad at this. You just transformed _right_ in front of me.”

He laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t think you would be there and my transformation was about to run out.”

“You’re lucky it was me that saw you.” She smiled smugly. “Anyone else might not keep your secret.”

Adrien frowned. He didn’t want to accuse her of anything but he had to be sure. “You. . . you _are_ going to keep my secret, right?”

“Seriously?” Chloé asked, glaring. “You think I would tell people? What do you take me for?”

_It’s completely in character for you to hold this over my head to get what you want in the future._ But he didn’t say that. “I just wanted to make sure you understood.”

“I do.” she insisted. “I’m not _that_ much of a bitch.”

He sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. You’re fine with me but, it’s just. . . the way you act at school. . .” He shrugged.

“What do you mean ‘the way I act at school’?” she asked, slowly. Oh no. She was upset now.

“You know.” He waved his hand vaguely. “You’re kind of . . . mean?” Chloé had already clearly been having a rough night and he didn’t want to insult her to her face.

“I’m just being honest! It’s not my fault they always take everything so seriously,” she said, closed off and defensive. After a moment, however, her shoulders slumped and she sighed. “You’re right though.”

Adrien was taken aback by her defeated posture. “Really?”

She didn’t look at him. “I know I’m too harsh and I’m not all touchy feely happy like the rest of those dorks.” Her frown deepened. “I really don’t understand how you do it. They like you so much. I don’t get it.”

Adrien put a comforting hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. He didn’t know what to say to her. “I just try to be nice to people.”

She laughed bitterly. “You make it sound so easy.”

“I don’t know what to tell you?” He rubbed her back vaguely. “I just, like, try to think about what other people want?”

“I guess.” She sighed. “This is why Ladybug doesn’t like me.”

He hugged her and she reluctantly returned the hug. “It’s okay. I’m glad this silly rivalry is over so we can go back to being friends.”

She pulled away and raised her eyebrows at him. “What do you mean ‘over’?”

He blinked. “I thought, since she rejected you. . .”

“She rejected me but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up.” She said matter-of-factly. Any sign of defeat was gone. Her posture radiated confidence despite her smudged makeup and puffy eyes.

“But, like, you know I’m Chat Noir now, so it isn’t so much of a contest anymore,” he said, confused.

“Yeah, I know. She doesn’t like Chat Noir like that so I’m totally going to win.” She smiled looking like she had already won.

“But like, we are all, like, ying and yang and stuff. We are meant to be together,” he explained. He thought this whole thing would be over after this.

“I don’t know what you mean by that nonsense, but if you were meant to be together she wouldn’t have spent the whole year shutting you down,” Chloé said, haughtiness dripping off of her.

“Okay then. It’s not over,” he said, defensively.

She grinned and he felt a jolt of fear.

This was going to be more difficult than he thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confession and a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story lives! The Chloe and Adrien friendship in the new episodes made me so happy so I had to work on this. I am sorry for being so mean to Adrien in this chapter.

“Good evening, my Lady!” Chat Noir greeted Ladybug cheerfully. He didn’t want to make a big deal about the fact that Chloe had discovered his identity. There was no need to worry her, after all. As long as Chloe kept her promise (and for all her faults, she _could_ keep a promise) then she never even had to know that his identity had been compromised.

Ladybug’s face lit up in a smile when she saw him and his heart fluttered. “Chat! Good evening!”

He laughed nervously. “Yeah. Better than last night, anyways.” He wasn’t sure if bringing up Chloe’s party was a good idea or not, but he barely had a filter around Ladybug.

She chuckled. “That was certainly an interesting night.”

“Oh?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know about Chloe asking her out. He wasn’t going to tell her why it had been an interesting night for him.

“Uh yeah.” She blushed. “Remember Chloe? She, uh, asked me out.”

“Didn’t she already do that?” Her blush was concerning.

“Yeah, but this time she was really sweet about it. I felt bad turning her down.” She sighed.

“But you did turn her down, right? Because you’re not into her.” Chloe had said she had, but maybe it was just a soft rejection. Nerves twisted in his stomach.

“Yeah. I mean, she’s pretty and all, but no.” Ladybug laughed and shook her head. Chat breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, I mean, she’s a civilian. It would be weird to date a civilian.” He laughed awkwardly. “Like, that's basic superhero stuff.”

A small secret smile danced across her lips. “I’m not _against_ dating a civilian.”

His heart lurched with sudden hope. “Really? Do you have anyone in mind?”

Ladybug rolled her eyes and turned away. “Come on. We should get this patrol started.” She lept away without looking at him, leaving him to scramble to keep up with her.

As he scanned the streets below, he was deep in thought. Ladybug seemed to think Adrien was attractive and she wasn’t against dating a civilian. She had turned Chloe down because she didn’t like her. Chloe _had_ caused a lot of akumas. Adrien had never caused any akumas. He thought briefly about Copycat but then realized that it was still true. _Adrien_ had never caused any akumas. She had no reason to dislike Adrien.

He considered his options as he vaulted through the cold night. He needed her to interact with Adrien more. But how? The only time they interacted was in the middle of akuma attacks, and he had to be more focused on stopping the attack.

Maybe he could just. . . ask her to visit Adrien? They both visit civilians occasionally, so it wouldn’t be that weird.

They stopped for a break and he turned to her abruptly, as if he was just remembering something. “I forgot, I ran into that one kid on my way over here, Adrien Agreste? He wanted to tell me he wanted to talk to you when you get a chance. He said it was important.” He tried to stay casual, as if he had no stake in whether she visited him or not.

She raised her eyebrow. “When would you have run into Adrien Agreste?”

“He was. . . taking a walk and he called out to me as I was coming to meet you.” He hoped it was dark enough that she didn’t see his nervous face clear enough.

Ladybug shrugged. “I could stop by after patrol and see if he is still up.” She frowned. “I wonder what he wants to talk about?”

Chat felt a little guilty for lying, but it was just because he couldn’t tell her he was Adrien. She didn’t want him to tell her. So this was his only option.

  


After finishing up the patrol they said their goodbyes. Chat ran back to his house as fast as he could, wanting to be sure he got there before Ladybug.

“This is a terrible idea.” Plagg said grumpily after he slipped through his window and dropped his transformation.

“You shush.” Adrien started up his computer and gathered some school work on to his desk, trying to make it look like he had been doing homework.  

He had only just started to pretend to concentrate on his text book when he heard a knock on the door. He tried not to look up too eagerly, but he knew he failed at that.

Ladybug stood on his windowsill, waving hesitantly. He rushed over to let her in.

“Ladybug! You made it!” He grinned as she slipped in through the window.

She looked concerned. “What’s wrong? Chat told me it was urgent.”

Guilt washed over him. He shouldn’t have said something that made her worried. “I, uh, might have exaggerated to him. It isn’t that urgent.” He tried to give her his most charming smile. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, frowning. “Okay. . . What did you want to talk about?”

Okay. He had to do it now. “I just wanted to let you know how much I admire you.” He took her hand and guided her to the couch. He held her hand as he gazed into her eyes. “You’re so smart and strong and beautiful and knowing you makes my life a million times better.”

A small, hesitant smile spread across her pretty lips. “Thank you, Adrien. I’m so flattered.”

“I’m not done.” He took a deep breath. “I like you. A lot. And I’d really like to go on a date with you.”

The smile fell from Ladybug’s lips and his heart fall with it. She shifted uncomfortably on the couch and pulled her hand away.

“Oh, Adrien. . .” She smiled again but it was a pitying smile now and it hurt almost as much as if she had stomped away in disgust. “I like you. I really do.” She sighed. “If you had asked me a few months ago. . . but that’s beside the point.”

“Is there someone else?” His voice was cracking and he could feel his throat tightening.

“Yes.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m dating someone else. I’m sorry.”

“Who is it?” He asked, a little harsher than he intended. He just had to know. Who had stolen her heart? And how had he not known?

“I can’t tell you. I have to protect her. Not even Chat knows. She doesn’t even know I’m Ladybug.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Adrien.” She reached down to give him a hug. He returned it stiffly, his mind still reeling, unable to appreciate the feeling of Ladybug so close.

Pulling away, she looked at him and frowned. “If you don’t have anything else, I’m, uh, going to go? If that’s okay?”

Adrien didn’t want her to go, but he knew it wasn’t fair to keep her, not when she was so clearly uncomfortable. “I’m fine. Sorry to call you out here for nothing.”

Ladybug frowned, hesitating at the window. “You’re really awesome Adrien. If I were single, I would definitely go on a date with you.” She forced a smile before jumping out the window and into the night.

Adrien stared at the open window, emotions swirling. She had a girlfriend. Of course she was seeing someone else.

“I told you it was a bad idea, kid.” Plagg floated up from his hiding place, laying a sympathetic paw on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Please, Plagg, leave me alone for a little bit.” His voice was ragged and he knew the tears were coming. Plagg floated away to snack on some cheese as Adrien collapsed heavily onto the couch.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad ideas and an unfortunate slip of the tongue. The final chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over! Thank you so much to everyone who put of with this haphazard fic. I apologize for all the tonal shifts, awkward pacing and inconsistent characterizations.

“Wait,” Chloe asked Adrien, confused. “She turned  _ you _ down?” 

“Yeah.” He sighed. “She apparently likes someone else.” 

Chloe was confused. She had been  _ so _ sure that Ladybug liked Adrien. The way she was acting at the party, whoever she liked was definitely there. “That. . . doesn’t make sense.”

Adrien shrugged, slouched on the couch. When Chat Noir had shown up at her window, Chloe had almost pushed him off the balcony. But she saw his face and knew that it wasn’t the time for teasing. Soon he was detransformed and sipping the gourmet hot chocolate that was normally saved for fights with his dad. 

She sat down next to him. “Did she give any hints about who she did like?”

He clutched his mug. “She used female pronouns.”

Chloe’s heart jumped irrationally. It was stupid. Just because Ladybug liked a girl doesn’t mean she liked her. She turned her down. Around half the population used female pronouns. She knew that but she couldn’t help the stupid hope that bubbled up inside her. “Oh.”

“Yeah. It sounds like they’ve been dating for a while.” His frown deeped. “Which, like, why did she never mention it to me? Like, as Chat?” 

Well, there goes that hope, if they were already dating. “Do you talk about things like that?” 

“Well, no,” he admitted reluctantly. “But if I was dating someone I would be screaming it from the rooftops.” 

She rolled her eyes and picked up her own mug. “Not everyone’s a dork like you.” 

Adrien smiled weakly and shoved her playfully. The hot chocolate in her mug sloshed and she only barely managed to prevent it from spilling all over her lap. “Hey! Watch it!” 

“Sorry.” He sighed. “I just. . . I don’t know. I’ve been so in love with her for so long that the idea of just. . . stopping hurts.”

Chloe’s heart hurt seeing him like that. She might not be the best with empathy but she hated to see Adrien in pain like this. Especially when she was hurting the same way. 

She put a hand on his shoulder. “Who says you have to stop?”

Adrien blinked at her and she could see that familiar sheen of unshed tears. Adrien rarely cried, even with her. While she had focused on learning to cry on command, he had learned to hold back his tears and maintain composure above all else. “What do you mean?”  
“You don’t have to stop loving Ladybug.” She spoke fervently now, her passion and anger and sadness bubbling up. “The person she likes was at that party, I’m sure of it. I was sure it was you. Because who could it be if it isn’t me and isn’t you? Maybe she was lying? Maybe it is one of us? Even if it isn’t I have to _know_ before I give up.”

Adrien looked tired as he watched her warily. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting we ask her. Together.”

  
  
  


“Ladybug! Wait!” Chat called out to his partner as she was about to jump away. 

Ladybug frowned at him. “I’m almost out of time. What is it?”

Chat hesitated. He still wasn’t sure if it was right to keep bothering her about this. She had already turned them both down. But it wouldn’t hurt to just get some closure, right? “Do you think you could come back, after you feed your kwami? Some people want to talk to you over in the park over there?” He gestured to nearby small park. 

She shrugged but was clearly in too much of a hurry to question further. “Sure, I guess. Fifteen minutes?” 

“Great. I’ll let them know.” He felt bad for using the same excuse twice. But if he had a way to contact her as Adrien then he would, but he didn’t, so this would have to do. 

He watched as she jumped away. She really was beautiful. Chloe was right, he wouldn’t be able to move on without proper closure. 

“Is she coming?” Chloe asked as he met her in the park, dropping his transformation discreetly. 

“Yeah, fifteen minutes.” 

“Great.”

“Did you bring the cheese?” Plagg asked, yawning loudly and floating between them. “You said you would bring cheese.”

Chloe gave Plagg a withering look, which he ignored, as she held up the small bag. “Best stinky cheese in France.” Plagg dove in, a gleeful smile spread across his tiny face. “Is he always like this?” 

“Pretty much.” He laughed. “Bringing the cheese will go a long way to make him like you, I promise.”

“Do I need him to like me?” Chloe sniffed, wrinkling her nose. “Is it really worth the smell?”

“Probably not.” He put the bag on the bench and sat down. A frown settled over his face. “What are you going to do if she really does have a girlfriend?”

Chloe sighed. “Make sure that by the time she inevitably breaks up with whoever this girl is, I’m the kind of person she would want to date.”

Adrien was surprised by that response. “Don’t want you to change yourself too much, Chloe. I like  _ you _ .” 

She smiled weakly. “I mean, of course, I’m amazing.” She was quite for a moment, staring intently at the grass. “I’m not  _ nice _ . I could be better. I’d be me, but better. That’s what i want.”

Adrien smiled, happiness and pride bubbling in his chest. He pulled her into a hug. “You can do it. I know you can.”

She squeezed him back. “I don’t need your assurance. I know I can do it.” Her words were harsh but her tone was soft and he knew that it was something she could never change. The thought made him smile wider. 

By the time Ladybug arrived, he had almost convinced himself that he didn’t care what the outcome of the conversation was. He had his friend back and that was the most important. But then Ladybug landed in the park and he felt his whole body become warmer. His feelings weren’t so easily forgotten. 

“Adrien? Chloe?” She furrowed her brow at the two nervous teens. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Do you really have a girlfriend?” Adrien blurted. He planned to be more subtle about it, but he couldn’t help it. “Like, an actual girlfriend?”

Ladybug blinked, taken by surprise. “Yes? I already told you.”

“Well then who is she?” Chloe put a hand on her hip and stood tall and commanding. “I want to know her name.”

“Why? So you can harass her?” She shook her head, frown deepening as she turned to Adrien. “I expected better from you.”

“I just wanted to be sure. Before I gave up on you.” Adrien felt ashamed, but also defensive. He didn’t think he was being that awful. 

“I knew you liked someone at the party, but it wouldn’t make sense that you were already dating someone there.” Chloe was smug and confident still, apparently unaware of Ladybug’s increasing annoyance. “I have a right to know my chances.”

Ladybug let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not a prize for your stupid competition. I said I wasn’t interested. That should be enough. Alya has nothing to do with this.”

“Alya?” Adrien and Chloe spoke in unison, confused by the mention of their classmate. 

“You’re dating . . . Alya?” Chloe’s voice dripped in disdain. 

“What?” A voice behind them spoke in distress and confusion. Alya stepped out from behind a tree, camera in hand. “What’re you talking about?” 

“Alya’s dating Marinette.” Adrien said, still trying to process.

Ladybug was frozen, panic and regret splashed across her face. “I-I, uh, I mean, not Alya! I’m not dating Alya!”

“You  _ are _ just making up a girlfriend!” Chloe accused, ignoring the dawning horror on Adrien’s face. 

“Yup! I was just lying! Yeah!” Ladybug forced a laugh as she tried to backtrack. 

“You’re Marinette.” Adrien said flatly. He shouldn’t have said anything. He should have helped her keep her identity as much as she could. But he wasn’t thinking clearly in his shock. 

“No way.” Alya’s voice was awed and joyful. “Mari?”

“What the hell? Marinette?” Chloe’s face was a mask of horror, as if her worst fears stood in front of her. 

“God dammit.” Ladybug’s shoulders slumped in defeat before she glared sternly at Adrien and Alya. “Don’t tell anyone. I mean it. No one can know.”

“Of course.” Adrien knew all too well how she must be feeling right then. 

“You . . . are Marinette?” Chloe repeated slowly.  

“Yes. Please, please don’t tell anyone. I mean it.” Ladybug (Marinette) was pleading, eyes darting over to her wide eyed and grinning girlfriend. 

Chloe blinked, shaking herself free of her distraction. “Of course not. Who do you think I am?”

Ladybug opened her mouth to respond but shut it again, clearly not wanting to have an argument right then. She sighed. “Great. Just great.” She turned towards Alya. “I have to have a chat with my girlfriend now.”

Alya threw her arms around Ladybug. “Babe! It’s you? It was always you? How? Damn you’re amazing. Please whisk me away in your strong superhero arms.”

Ladybug laughed, wrapping one arm around Alya. “Will do.” And she threw her yoyo, jumping off into the city with her girlfriend in her arms. 

Adrien and Chloe were left alone in the park. The looked at each other, still a little shellshocked from what had just happened. 

“Well, I guess that settles that.” Adrien almost felt like laughing. Ladybug had been so close and he had just thought of her as a nice friend. A nice friend who was  _ definitely _ taken. 

Chloe scoffed. “If you think anything is settled, you’re more naive than I thought.”

“You saw that. The girlfriend’s not made up.” Adrien shook his head. “Neither of us win.”

A determined smile quirked at the corner of her lips. “For now. I’m going to become so amazing she won’t be able to resist leaving boring Alya for me. Just you wait.”

Adrien laughed then. “Even though she’s Marinette? Your nemesis?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Even more now. Marinette was always the cutest girl in the class so it makes sense. Besides, she’s been a worthy opponent. I always respected her. And she’ll be mine someday.”

Adrien shook his head, smiling. “You’re ridiculous.”

Chloe’s haughty look dropped and she smiled more softly. “But you love me.”

Adrien pulled Chloe in for a hug. “Of course.”


End file.
